


Strawberries & Cigarettes

by sooshidamachi



Category: ITZY (Band)
Genre: F/F, content warning: alcohol and cigarettes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:34:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26023531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sooshidamachi/pseuds/sooshidamachi
Summary: even if i run away, give my heart a holiday- still strawberries and cigarettes would always taste like you
Relationships: Choi Jisu | Lia/Shin Ryujin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	Strawberries & Cigarettes

The night is young and so are we.

Stars were coming out like all these teenagers wanting to have fun on a Friday night. Colors were flashing and the bass was thumping hearts. It's a mess of sweaty bodies and cheap alcohol; but it's the type of chaos you wouldn't mind getting lost in for one night.

I was on the balcony when you found me. You had a beer and cigarette on one hand and a strawberry on the other. Your eyes sparked mischief as my own roamed you; a familiar stranger. But then again everyone is friends with everyone on nights like these.

"You got a light?"

"I have half a mind to tell you, 'bold of you to assume I smoke.'"

A chuckle. Suddenly I want to listen to it forever.

"You smell like cologne and Lights; not my favorite scent but I guess you can be an exception."

My lips curve a little. You smile like you're innocent when you place the cigarette between your teeth. Something warm stirs inside me- I imagine butterflies.

"So what's the daughter of Principal Choi doing at a house party like this?"

You shrug. "Someone has to eat all the strawberries Chaeryeong laid out. And I have every intention of doing so."

You blew a smoke ring and I'm impressed- everyone always is when it comes to you.

"Aren't you supposed to be the resident good girl?"

 _"Good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught,"_ your voice wrapped around the melody like you have me around your finger. You winked and I'm suddenly weak. Is the fruity scent of your perfume an enamoring spell?

"Everyone knows my name, but I don't know yours."

"Ryujin," I said. "Shin Ryujin."

* * *

Three weeks later you find me at my locker on a Wednesday afternoon. I try not to stare at you like how I try not to find you in the parties after our first- but both end the same; I couldn't help it.

"Shin Ryujin."

"Choi Jisu."

"Are you busy on Saturday?"

I tip my head to the side. "I have a flexible schedule."

"Then you're taking me to my father's charity ball," you say as if it was a normal statement. "Pick me up at four."

A pamphlet makes its way on top of my books and you make your way to Chaeryeong a few lockers down. I look at the pamphlet then at your retreating figure.

"Wait, so is this like a date?"

You look back at me and shrug a single shoulder. "I'm taking you as one, so, I guess?" you reply. I'm still left confused.

"Dress nicely, though. This isn't a midnight run to McDonald's."

* * *

You're wearing a sparkly red dress and my sneakers. I'm wearing a white long sleeve and a tie I spent twenty minutes on. We're parked on an abandoned lot, eating Big Macs and chicken nuggets while Troye Sivan plays on the radio. You said you'd rather be anywhere than that dumb ball; I try not to think I want to go anywhere with you.

"Ryu?"

"Yeah?"

"Help me escape."

* * *

Weeks passed by like that. Some days you see me, other days you don't; rare are the days you need me but most days I miss you. Like a recurring dream, you haunt me; a ghost of someone I'm not supposed to meet. But we did, and I'm lost in this maze fate put us in.

What am I to you?

* * *

Another Friday, another party, another night of looking for you. I didn't think I'd find you at Yeji's party but then again I don't know you at all. The lights bounced off the sparkle in your eyes and your laugh is in harmony with the song playing through the speakers.

_You are the lull and the clamor; you are the life of the party._

Brown eyes met mine, then they formed crescents. Your smile is bright in this dim room. It's like I'm blinded and you're all I can see; caught in your bewitching but I don't think I'll ever mind.

You have a beer on one hand and a strawberry on another again. I think I have a pack of cigarettes in my glove compartment.

"Let's get out of here," you say, dragging me out of the house and into my pickup.

"Where to?" I ask.

"Anywhere," you answer. "Everywhere, somewhere, nowhere, I don't know. I have you; that's escape enough."

* * *

The cold air hits different when you're used to being in a house full of shared body heat. I drape a blanket over your shoulders but you don't notice. Eyes are still wide and mesmerized; like you're stuck in a trance you've always kept me in, but I'll never hold that much power over you.

I take a seat next to you and we stay like that for a while- an indie track barely heard over the silence. Nothing's quite alive like a cityscape on a Friday night. Lights and colors prance around, trying in vain to be what the stars are. You admire the view while I can't tear my gaze from you. We're only on top of a cliff at the outskirts but it feels like we have our own world entirely.

I try not to make it sound nice in my head.

"It's beautiful," you say before looking at me. "Thank you for being my escape."

"Thank you for taking me with you whenever you do."

We share a laugh then, like we're lucky and in love- but that's just me. You're too free spirited to settle down; a fleeting moment, always coming and going and never staying. I'm your escape, you claim, but not your home. Because home is where the heart is and I'll never have yours.

But that doesn't stop me from wanting to give you mine.

A comfortable silence falls upon us, our smiles following suit when the weight of the tension starts caving in. This is the first time you've looked at me the same way I've always looked at you; and for the first and last time, you stayed. You stayed for me.

You stared at my lips and I swear I can taste the strawberries on yours.

* * *

Time doesn't exist for you- or at least it doesn't slow down. All too fast did the day come for snowflakes flutter from the sky. The quad is painted white; the strawberry in your hand the only splash of color.

That, and the jacket of the guy you're talking to.

The smile on your lips is the one I've always wanted to put on your face. Your laugh is ringing in my ears but I know it sounds better when you're with him. Stars of happiness twinkled in your eyes, and I'm reminded of how lonely the moon is. Although, I'm no different.

I always see you, but you've never seen me- even as I'm walking towards the campus gates. Hands are shaking as they find a grip on the only thing that's kept me stable. I still remember our first night, when you asked me if I had a light. _Bold of you to assume I smoke._

Bold of me to assume you'll love me.

I take a deep breath; the cloud I exhaled wasn't because of the cold. _You're a fool. You're such a goddamn fool._ Nicotine warmed my lungs. Mint burned my throat. Tears stung my eyes.

Why does this cigarette taste like you?

**Author's Note:**

> This is also posted on Twitter! Go follow me, I'm @shinapollo__ :D thank you for reading! <3


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